Hammock having ridge cord

Abstract

A hammock includes a bed made of a rectangular piece of fabric, whose ends are gathered together and secured to ropes which can be tied to respective trees. A ridge cord extends between the gathered ends, this cord being shorter than the fabric bed, so that the bed sags somewhat no matter how much tension is applied to the ropes. An entrance slit extending about half the length of the hammock allows one to enter from below. The hammock has a lozenge shape when it is viewed from the top and may be covered by a lozenge-shaped canopy.

I claim:  
     
       1. In a hammock comprising 
       a bed formed from a piece of sheet material, said piece of sheet material being gathered at opposite ends,  
       a pair of ropes for suspending the bed between two trees, each gathered end being connected to a respective one of said ropes, and  
       a ridge cord extending above the bed, the improvement wherein  
       the ridge cord extends between said gathered ends, and is shorter than the length of said piece of sheet material, so that the bed sags between said ends when the ropes are pulled tight and tied to the respective trees.  
     
     
       2. A hammock as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said ropes are continuous extensions of said ridge cord. 
     
     
       3. A hammock as defined in  claim 1 , further comprising means for adjusting the length of said ridge cord between said opposite ends. 
     
     
       4. A hammock as defined in  claim 1 , wherein said piece of sheet material is substantially rectangular before being gathered at opposite ends. 
     
     
       5. A hammock as defined in  claim 1 , wherein said opposite ends of the piece of sheet material comprise a bundle of folds, and an aperture is formed extending through said bundle, a respective one of said ropes being secured in said aperture. 
     
     
       6. A method of hanging a hammock having a bed made of a piece of fabric, said method comprising steps of 
       gathering said fabric at opposite ends,  
       running a ridge cord between said gathered opposite ends,  
       securing said opposite ends to said cord in such a way that the effective length of the cord is shorter than the length of the fabric, whereby the fabric sags even when the cord is taut, and  
       suspending the hammock between a pair of trees by tying each of said gathered opposite ends to a respective one of said trees.